Sb₂Se₃ is considered a promising photocathode material for hydrogen production via solar water splitting. Nevertheless, losses caused by photocorrosion and slow charge transfer at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface require the presence of a cocatalyst to improve the kinetic factors. In this work, the activity of all-electrochemically grown Sb₂Se₃/amorphous-MoS_x photocathodes was studied in function of the number of cocatalyst deposition cycles. MoS_x, a noble-metal-free electrocatalyst, has shown high activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction. It promoted an ∼70-time higher improvement in the photocurrent of the Sb₂Se₃-absorber. An antagonistic effect was observed as the number of cycles increased: thin MoS_x layers promoted the maximum enhancement in photocurrent and the decrease in surface recombination, but the photocorrosion inhibition was compromised. In the counterpart, thick MoS_x layers allowed the material to be less susceptible to photocorrosion, but the photocurrent was inhibited. Therefore, the relationship between cocatalyst thickness and photocurrent enhancement/inhibition, variation in surface recombination, and photocorrosion stability was evaluated.

中文翻译：

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全电化学生长的Sb ₂ Se ₃ / a-MoS _x阴极用于制氢：MoS _x层对Sb ₂ Se ₃膜的表面复合和光腐蚀的影响

Sb ₂ Se ₃被认为是一种有前途的光阴极材料，可用于通过太阳水分解制氢。然而，由光腐蚀和在半导体/电解质界面处缓慢的电荷转移引起的损失需要助催化剂的存在以改善动力学因素。在这项工作中，研究了全电化学生长的Sb ₂ Se ₃ /非晶态MoS _x光电阴极的活性与助催化剂沉积循环数的关系。MoS _x是一种不含贵金属的电催化剂，对氢析出反应显示出高活性。它使Sb ₂ Se ₃的光电流提高了约70倍。-吸收体。随着循环次数的增加，观察到了拮抗作用：薄的MoS _x层促进了光电流的最大增强和表面重组的降低，但是光腐蚀抑制受到损害。在对应的情况下，厚的MoS _x层使材料对光腐蚀的敏感性降低，但光电流受到抑制。因此，评估了助催化剂厚度与光电流增强/抑制，表面复合变化和光腐蚀稳定性之间的关系。